Winston Low, Captain of Pegasus Shares His Captaincy Journey

IMU Cup 2015 was just over. After battling all the sports events, we were looking at days of facing one of our biggest fears: EXAMS! While resuming back to books, I had the wonderful opportunity of interviewing the captain of the winning house of IMU Cup 2015. It’s none other than WINSTON LOW, captain of the Pegasus house. In the midst of attending classes and collecting MPU forms around the campus, I managed to get the captain’s 15 minutes on IMU Cup 2015 experience.

How did it feel to be chosen as the captain of the Pegasus house during the annual general meeting (AGM) of the houses?

To be honest, I was quite relieved. Towards the end of IMU Cup 2014, most of us in Pegasus knew who was going to go for the captaincy and it was between Jeihiin and myself. To add to that, Jeihiin is quite popular among the students and I was slightly worried. Even the previous captain, Jimmy Khalaff, added that it would be great if both of us (Jeihiin and Winston), would go for the captaincy. At the end of the day, I told myself, we will see how the votes go during the AGM. For me, it was a nerve-wracking moment. Seeing the results, I was certainly delighted.

Any word of advice from the previous captain, Jimmy Khalaff?

I’m not sure whether there was any advice but he did guide me on the basic tasks to be completed as a captain such as assigning sports captains and also to make sure the all the sports, the progresses and the funding go smoothly. In case, if there was a rise in problems, make sure to do a follow-up and get help from the IMU Cup committee itself.

How was it working with other Pegasus committee members?

I think it was quite easy. My committee members executed their responsibilities well and you didn’t really have to push them for it. They knew their roles. As students, we also have to balance our studies and also focus on IMU Cup. So I just had to remind them at times, on certain tasks to be completed. I’m glad that I had a good team. They helped greatly, especially during T-shirt distribution and fundraising. I’m not sure about other houses, but my committee was willing to skip some classes, at times. I know it’s undoubtedly not a good thing to do but they put all their efforts in making things happen.

How did you find your responsibilities as the captain?

Mainly, I have to make sure my committee members do their duties. I have to also find some sports captains as it wasn’t easy to get the captains for some of the sports. I must make sure that the sports captains are having regular trainings as much as possible. It’s definitely not impossible to manage all the captains but it’s a smarter choice to split the management of the sports captains. So, we divided the sports among my committee members. For example, 1 committee member will be in charge of 6 sports and the vice-captain and I will be in – charge of more sports. At the end of the day, despite dividing the responsibilities, I must make a follow –up to ensure it works well and push the team harder when necessary.

How was it finding sports captains and players for all the sports?

Well, that one is definitely not easy. *emphasis on “not easy”* Well, it’s easy for the sports in which my committee and myself have participated in last year cause we know the players. Some of the sports like dance, volleyball and others weren’t that easy. Some of them were assigned last minute and we have some sports where the captains resigned last minute. It was definitely panicking to see those drastic changes. In terms of finding players, Pegasus is quite lucky where some of us can participate in many sports. We were actually quite fortunate that the sports captains did manage to find players. Only worry was definitely getting sports captains, as people don’t really volunteer for it.

Hydra has been one of your toughest opponent since last year. How was it for you to handle that as a captain?

It was sort of worrying. Joining last year’s IMU Cup, somehow we know their abilities and potentials in most sports. Although in the first 4 sports, we dropped only 2 points, we had one 1st runner up and three winning sports. Many were saying that Pegasus is going to win the championship this year in the beginning itself. They were stating that there is no competition this year as Hydra was way behind. But I denied that because the first four sports are the strong sports where I know we are good in and we should go for gold. That will help us in leading the board in the long run. This is mainly because I know Hydra is good in basketball, volleyball and also track and field. I’m making sure that we are points ahead. Comparing from last year and this year, I’m glad that we led the board from Day 2. Knowing that they are strong, we must be ahead of them.

Other than Hydra, are they are other houses that you find that was a tough competition?

Initially, it was Draco. Before basketball and other sports, Draco and Pegasus were neck-to-neck. They were one of the tough opponents before Hydra. Draco was the 1st runner ups for quite a few sports and even though they didn’t get as many gold medals. But the difference between the gold and silver was only 2 points. So, if Draco has five 1st runner ups and Pegasus has 4 wins, 5 silver medals is better than 4 gold medals. They posed quite a threat but when the points from Chariofare were out, it was a big blow for them. If I were to face such situation, I would be devastated because Chariofare isn’t really considered as a competitive sport. To add to that, the point difference between the winner and the last place is 20 points which is big as compared to the previous years which was 8 points. We got 2nd and Hydra got 1st and the point difference was 4. It makes a difference, let it be small or big.

How does it feel to bring the cup back to Pegasus?

ECSTATIC. It’s such a nice feeling. The way we lost it last year, it made the win more suited this year. We lost it on the last day last year after leading the board on and off. We made sure we didn’t put too much pressure on our cheerleaders and they did better this year. We are definitely delighted and happy.

With cheerleading being the last event and with the point margin of 18 points between Hydra and Pegasus, was there any thoughts that Hydra might do better and win the cup?

Honestly, I want to think and weigh all the possible outcomes that may take place. Mathematically speaking, 18 points is not a sure win. Anything can happen. Hydra could’ve won the cheer competition and we could’ve gotten last. And with those changes, they could’ve won the cup. It’s very unlikely and after the cheer performances many said Pegasus would win the cup as Taurus and Draco have a strong stand in cheerleading. It’s not given until results were in. Once I saw Taurus’ performance, I was quite relieved.

Any advice to the captain of Pegasus for the next IMU Cup?

Good luck. There will be more pressure than when I took up the position as now we are defending champions. There will be pressure. It is expected. Then again, the house has a lot of talented people and it’s not the captain alone that leads the house to victories. You have your committee, your sports captains and your athletes. Without all of us working together, you could definitely not win it. It’s a cumulative effort.

One word to describe the entire IMU Cup 2015 journey.

*after a long pause and erms* PROUD! I’m proud to be in Pegasus and this year we have set quite a lot of milestones. Dominating all racquet sports and I don’t think so that has been done before. We led the board throughout IMU Cup since Day 2. These are things that make you feel good. I’m not sure whether any other houses have done that before but I’m surely proud of Pegasus. It’s certainly great to know that our team have made this achievements for the next batch to follow.

“The way we lost it last year, it made the win more suited this year.” – Winston Low

And so we ended the interview with the proud captain. It was undoubtedly an amazing opportunity for me to interview a polite and a down-to-earth individual. We, from IMU Editorial Board, wish him and his team all the best in their exams and future endeavors. Not to forget, we would also like to congratulate Pegasus, for winning the cup for the 2nd time around.